Perfectly Satisfied

New chapter is live.

Settle in, take your time, and let's see what waits in the dark 🖤

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Corvin left so cleanly that the scavenger pirates had not expected it at all.

They had come hoping that even if they could not claim the real prize, they could at least scrape up the leftovers.

Who would have thought Corvin would throw the meat down in front of them?

Their mouths practically watered.

After Corvin left, they pounced on the remnants of the Sharp-Horn Pirates and tore them apart in no time.

Then they turned into a swarm, stripping the Sharp-Horn Pirates of everything they could find. They did not spare the blades and guns on deck, or even the barrels of liquor in the kitchen.

Plenty of manpower, efficient looting, and a rational attitude of staying out of one another's way.

Somehow, the three groups of pirates completed a quick, silent, perfectly coordinated raid on the spoils.

Once they were done, they left the scene at once, leaving only the Sharp-Horn Pirates' corpses behind.

If not for their own status as pirates, they would have taken Kazt's and Wells's heads too.

Only at times like this did being a pirate feel inconvenient.

Even if they had the nerve to cross the unspoken rule against turning in other pirates' heads for bounties, getting the Marines to pay them would be its own problem.

Elsewhere.

After leaving the ship, Corvin rushed toward the direction where Wolf Rat and Tatamu were supposed to be.

Among the three prey written in the ledger, one swordsman named Gabton still remained.

Compared with the Sharp-Horn Pirates' property, Corvin cared far more about the returns from a kill.

Once he became strong enough, would he still have to worry about money?

At this point, Gabton should still be tangled up with Wolf Rat.

Hopefully, Gabton was tough enough not to get himself killed by Wolf Rat too soon.

'Gabton, hang in there.'

Corvin murmured the thought inwardly and quickened his pace.

He did not want to lose Gabton as prey.

If Wolf Rat had known what Corvin was thinking, he would probably have had a few words he desperately wanted to say.

In the open space among the warehouses, several corpses lay on the ground, their bodies torn open by deep gashes.

Blood flowed from the wounds, leaving a faint metallic smell in the air.

Tatamu stood beside the corpses, silently watching Wolf Rat and Gabton a dozen meters away.

Wolf Rat had already shifted into his hybrid form. A moderate cut crossed his chest, and his right cheek was slightly swollen.

Gabton, sharp-faced and lean, had taken several wounds as well, but the long blade in his hand remained steady. His injuries did not seem to affect his grip at all.

"Tch."

Wolf Rat turned his head and spat out bloody foam.

Compared with the cut on his chest, the blunt pain from being struck in the face with the back of a blade hurt more.

If he could use the Rokushiki, a man like Gabton...

After that silent threat, Wolf Rat glanced toward Tatamu from the corner of his eye.

He wanted Tatamu to come over and lend a hand, but he did not want another debt note.

'I wonder how Usopp is doing.'

As the thought passed through Wolf Rat's mind, Gabton came at him again, stepping with a swaying rhythm, blade in hand.

Suppressing the urge to use Soru, Wolf Rat went to meet him. He raised the claw that had healed by more than half and clashed against Gabton's long blade.

Clang, clang.

Neither man was slow.

In a few seconds, claws and blade collided more than a dozen times, throwing off sparks with every exchange.

A few seconds later, both sides pushed the exchange to its peak.

Wolf Rat was the first to show an opening.

Gabton caught it.

The underhanded technique aimed at the knees, Ground Sweep, cut two fresh wounds into Wolf Rat's legs.

Wolf Rat reacted at once, retreating to put distance between them.

Gabton did not press the advantage. He spun his blade once and looked sideways at Tatamu, who still had not moved.

To Gabton, that Ground Sweep was enough to remove Wolf Rat as a threat.

Now, he cared more about Tatamu, who was clearly not weak.

"Still watching from the sidelines?"

Gabton fixed a cold look on Tatamu.

Tatamu answered him with silence.

Gabton sneered. "Looks like you have a lot of confidence in that rat. Think I can't finish him in ten moves?"

He did not know why Tatamu had stayed out of this one-on-one fight, but he was more than happy with it.

Tatamu remained silent, as if saying a single word would waste his strength.

Wolf Rat looked down at the wounds on his legs and cursed under his breath.

Ever since he came to Mad Hatter Town, he had kept a low profile. When had he ever been this miserable?

"Come to think of it, ever since I met Usopp, I've been hurt more in one week than I have in the last few years."

Wolf Rat sighed. He knew he could not drag this out much longer, so he pushed through the pain and took the initiative, attacking Gabton first.

With Tatamu nearby as insurance, he could let himself focus on fighting Gabton.

Even so, after fighting this long, Wolf Rat had no confidence in killing Gabton without the Rokushiki.

"Oh?"

Seeing Wolf Rat charge first, Gabton's face hardened.

The two clashed again.

This time, Gabton quickly gained the upper hand. With both legs injured, Wolf Rat was forced back step by step.

"Damn it."

Every one of Gabton's cuts carried pressure, and Wolf Rat's urge to use the Rokushiki kept growing.

'No. I can't use it...!'

Wolf Rat gritted his teeth and struggled to withstand Gabton's assault, searching for a chance to counterattack.

Then, in despair, he realized there was no opening.

Not unless he used the Rokushiki.

'Tatamu, come save me already!'

The thought was almost about to leave Wolf Rat's mouth.

Then a gunshot cracked through the night.

A lead ball came flying from behind Wolf Rat, grazing open a cut along his waist before striking Gabton in the abdomen.

It happened too suddenly.

Gabton's body jerked from the shot, his face changing sharply.

Wolf Rat had no time to care who fired. He swung a claw at Gabton.

Gabton hurriedly raised his blade to block, but Wolf Rat's claw forced him back two steps.

At that moment, another gunshot rang out.

The shooter had seized the exact instant Wolf Rat knocked Gabton back. The shot was brutally precise, punching a bloody hole straight through Gabton's forehead.

Gabton's face froze.

Even in death, he did not know who had fired.

Watching Gabton drop dead from the shot to the head, Wolf Rat spun toward the direction of the gunfire and saw Corvin walking out through the drifting smoke.

"Whew..."

When he saw Corvin was the shooter, Wolf Rat let out a breath.

Corvin hid the joy of stealing the kill and walked closer. Turning to Wolf Rat, who had performed perfectly as hired muscle, he smiled and said, "Thanks for the hard work."

"What about Kazt?"

"Handled."

"That fast?"

Wolf Rat was startled.

"Yeah."

Corvin nodded, then looked toward Tatamu not far away.

"Let's move. Plenty of people nearby are watching."

After saying that, Corvin headed toward town first.

Wolf Rat and Tatamu exchanged a glance, then quickly followed him.

Tonight was destined to be noisy.

At the docks, where the Sharp-Horn Pirates' ship was moored, a few pirates had arrived too late to get even a mouthful of broth.

Unwilling to leave empty-handed, they made a reckless decision, threw the corpses on deck into the sea, and sailed the pirate ship out of the harbor toward open water.

They simply stole the whole ship.

Corvin knew nothing about it.

If he had, he could only have admired the talent.

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